METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR STABLE AND TUNABLE HIGH POWER PULSED LASER SYSTEM

• US 20110142084A1
• Filed: 06/08/2010
• Published: 06/16/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electro Scientific Industries Incorporated (MKS Instruments Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: 6091571 Canada, Inc. (MKS Instruments Incorporated)
• Inventors: Caplette, Stephane, Reid, Benoit, Panarello, Tullio
• Granted Patent: US 8,964,801 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 372/20
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2101/10 Pipe-lines
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2101/12 Vessels
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2101/34 Coated articles , e.g. plated or painted; Surface treated articles
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2101/42 Printed circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2103/10 Aluminium or alloys thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2103/12 Copper or alloys thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2103/172 wherein at least one of the layers is non-metallic
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2103/42 Plastics B23K2103/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2103/50 Inorganic material, e.g. metals, not provided for in B23K2103/02 – B23K2103/26
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2103/54 Glass
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/032 using optical means
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/0622 by shaping pulses
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/142 for the removal of by-products
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/16 Removal of by-products, e.g. particles or vapours produced during treatment of a workpiece by a fluid stream B23K26/142
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/382 by boring
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/40 taking account of the properties of the material involved
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2218/328 Partly or completely removing a coating
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 2301/02 ASE (amplified spontaneous emission), noise; Reduction thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 2301/03 Suppression of nonlinear conversion, e.g. specific design to suppress for example stimulated brillouin scattering [SBS], mainly in optical fibres in combination with multimode pumping
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/0092 Nonlinear frequency conversion, e.g. second harmonic generation [SHG] or sum- or difference-frequency generation outside the laser cavity nonlinear frequency conversion per se G02F1/35
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/06754 : Fibre amplifiers H01S3/06708 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/06758 : Tandem amplifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/09415 : the pumping beam being parallel to the lasing mode of the pumped medium, e.g. end-pumping
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/1001 : by controlling the optical pumping
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/10015 : by monitoring or controlling, e.g. attenuating, the input signal
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/1618 : ytterbium
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 3/2375 : Hybrid lasers H01S3/07 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/005 : Optical components external to the laser cavity, specially adapted therefor, e.g. for homogenisation or merging of the beams or for manipulating laser pulses, e.g. pulse shaping H01S5/026, H01S5/18388 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/0078 : for frequency filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/06216 : Pulse modulation or generation
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/146 : using a fiber as external cavity
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/4006 : Injection locking
• CPC Class Codes: H01S 5/5018 : using two or more amplifiers or multiple passes through the same amplifier
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/0038 : combined with laser drilling through a metal layer

Abstract

A laser system includes an injection laser source having an output and operable to provide a laser output characterized by a first wavelength, a first linewidth, an output power. The laser system also includes a tunable pulsed source characterized by a gain bandwidth. The tunable pulsed source is operable to provide an output signal having an average power. The output signal includes a plurality of optical pulses. Each of the plurality of optical pulses is characterized by a second wavelength, a second linewidth, and a peak power. The laser system further includes an optical combiner having a first port coupled to the output of the injection laser source, a second port coupled to the tunable pulsed source, and a third port.

Claims

1. A laser system comprising:

an injection laser source having an output and operable to provide a laser output characterized by a first wavelength, a first linewidth, an output power;

a tunable pulsed source characterized by a gain bandwidth, the tunable pulsed source being operable to provide an output signal having an average power, the output signal comprising a plurality of optical pulses, each of the plurality of optical pulses being characterized by a second wavelength, a second linewidth, and a peak power; and

an optical combiner having a first port coupled to the output of the injection laser source, a second port coupled to the tunable pulsed source, and a third port.

2. The laser system of claim 1 wherein the optical combiner comprises a three-port optical circulator.

3. The laser system of claim 1 wherein the injection laser source comprises a continuous wave semiconductor laser.

4. The laser system of claim 3 wherein the continuous wave semiconductor laser comprises a fiber Bragg grating stabilized semiconductor laser.

5. The laser system of claim 1 wherein the injection laser source comprises a pulsed semiconductor laser having a pulse width substantially longer than a pulse width of each of plurality of optical pulses.

6. The laser system of claim 1 wherein the tunable pulsed source comprises a semiconductor laser.

7. The laser system of claim 6 wherein a front facet reflectivity of the semiconductor laser is less than 1%.

8. The laser system of claim 7 wherein the front facet reflectivity is less than 0.01%.

9. The laser system of claim 1 wherein the tunable pulsed source comprises a semiconductor optical amplifier having a first side coupled to the second port of the optical combiner and a second side coupled to a fiber Bragg grating.

10. The laser system of claim 9 wherein the fiber Bragg grating is characterized by a reflectivity greater than 75% at the first wavelength.

11. The laser system of claim 10 wherein the reflectivity is greater than 95%.

12. The laser system of claim 1 wherein the first wavelength is within the gain bandwidth.

13. The laser system of claim 1 wherein the second linewidth is approximately equal to the first linewidth.

14. The laser system of claim 1 wherein the second wavelength is approximately equal to the first wavelength.

15. The laser system of claim 1 further comprising an optical amplifier coupled to the third port, wherein the optical amplifier is operable to receive the output signal of the tunable pulsed source and provide an amplified output.

16. The laser system of claim 15 wherein the optical amplifier comprises an optically active fiber and a pump source optically coupled to the optically active fiber.

17. A method for providing a plurality of signal pulses, the method comprising:

providing optical radiation;

coupling the optical radiation into a first port of an optical combiner;

transmitting the optical radiation signal from the first port to a second port of the optical combiner;

coupling the optical radiation signal from the second port into a tunable pulsed source;

generating a plurality of signal pulses;

coupling the plurality of signal pulses into the second port;

transmitting the plurality of signal pulses from the second port to a third port of the optical combiner; and

outputting the plurality of signal pulses from the third port.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

coupling the plurality of signal pulses into an input end of an optical amplifier;

amplifying the plurality of signal pulses; and

outputting the plurality of amplified signal pulses at an output end of the optical amplifier.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the optical amplifier comprises a pump source optically coupled to an optically active fiber.

20. A method for providing amplified and stabilized laser pulses, the method comprising:

providing an optical radiation signal from an injection laser source;

stabilizing a tunable pulsed source based on the optical radiation signal to produce stabilized signal pulses;

amplifying the stabilized signal pulses in an optical fiber amplifier; and

outputting the amplified, stabilized signal pulses.

21. The method of claim 20 wherein the optical fiber amplifier comprises a pump source optically coupled to an optically active fiber.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein the injection laser source comprises a continuous wave semiconductor laser and the tunable pulsed comprises a pulsed semiconductor laser.

23. The method of claim 20 where a peak power of the amplified and stabilized signal pulses is greater than 1 kW.